November 02, 2009

Turn on the Night Light

My two sons, Kedar (6) and Kaleb (3) do pretty much everything together. They share a room, where they can be heard giggling and laughing at night when they should be sleeping. They play matchbox cars, "church" and hand puppets together for hours at a time. They also get quite a kick out of nearly snapping their necks doing headstands, coming up with schemes to replace dinner with candy and snacks, performing life-threatening back flips, and anything that remotely resembles something that might scare their poor mother half to death.

What is it with boys? They seem to have no fear when they're together.

Well, last evening, Kedar wasn't feeling so great. He said he had a headache and wanted to lie down. Now, all of this happened well before Kaleb and Kedar's usual bedtime, but, as I said, they tend to do most everything together. So, little Kaleb decided that he would join his "partner in crime" and turn in early for the evening. But, not even 10 minutes after retiring to their room, Kaleb re-emerged with a distressed look on his face.

"I too scee-owed (scared)," he said with his brows furrowed, as he made his cutest pouty face. That gets me every time.

"What is Mommy's baby scared of?" I asked.

"It too dowk (dark)," he said shooting a sad look at me with those dark brown eyes. Since Kedar wasn't feeling so great, he didn't have anyone to keep him company. "Tan I stay wit you Mommy?"

I felt my heart melting within me, but I knew that if I validated that fear and allowed him to stay with me in that moment, I wouldn't be helping him at all. In fact, I would be nurturing Kaleb's fear and stifling his ability to develop independence.

Of course, I'm not made of stone, so I made sure to turn his night light on to make him feel more comfortable, but staying in Mommy's room, was absolutely out of the question. Soon after he returned to his room, I heard silence. Kaleb had fallen asleep.

This is a great lesson that's applicable to both you and me.

God knows that, when we give into fear and allow it to control us, we develop unhealthy dependency upon people and things, which ultimately limits our growth. So, He allows us to go through situations that challenge and stretch us, with just a "night light." He lights our path through the dark seasons, knowing that His word is enough to sustain us. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Psalm119:105 KJV).

That's why, sometimes, we have to go through a season of pruning and stripping away. We lose some things we perceive as very valuable that we've grown to rely heavily on. Although this can be an extremely painful process, the good news is that, through losing those comforts that keep us dependent on temporal things, we in turn, gain something much more valuable.

We gain the revelation that all we really need already lies within us... not outside of us. This only happens, however, when we go through a separation from all the noise and extraneous things that keep us occupied. Bottom line is, we have to lose what's dispensable, so we can gain what's invaluable. Often, we think those non-essential people and things are essential, so it's not until we lose them, that we realize we never needed them in the first place.

While losing is typically associated with pain, gaining intimacy with God heals any emotional injury we might sustain, through deeper levels of communion with the Holy Spirit, fuller joy and abiding peace.

But I must reiterate this point; we can never benefit from the power of God's word and time spent in His presence, if we always fill our void with everything but Him. All too often, we find ourselves seeking after temporary comforts when what we really need is a word from the Lord. (See Matthew 4:4)

If we would just turn on our night light--that is, open up our word and seek God's face, then our fear, emptiness, uncertainty and anxiety would dissipate and we would indeed find rest for our souls. Jesus said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

Isn't it about time you got some rest?

As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may you be empowered to prosper!

Comments

Turn on the Night Light

My two sons, Kedar (6) and Kaleb (3) do pretty much everything together. They share a room, where they can be heard giggling and laughing at night when they should be sleeping. They play matchbox cars, "church" and hand puppets together for hours at a time. They also get quite a kick out of nearly snapping their necks doing headstands, coming up with schemes to replace dinner with candy and snacks, performing life-threatening back flips, and anything that remotely resembles something that might scare their poor mother half to death.

What is it with boys? They seem to have no fear when they're together.

Well, last evening, Kedar wasn't feeling so great. He said he had a headache and wanted to lie down. Now, all of this happened well before Kaleb and Kedar's usual bedtime, but, as I said, they tend to do most everything together. So, little Kaleb decided that he would join his "partner in crime" and turn in early for the evening. But, not even 10 minutes after retiring to their room, Kaleb re-emerged with a distressed look on his face.

"I too scee-owed (scared)," he said with his brows furrowed, as he made his cutest pouty face. That gets me every time.

"What is Mommy's baby scared of?" I asked.

"It too dowk (dark)," he said shooting a sad look at me with those dark brown eyes. Since Kedar wasn't feeling so great, he didn't have anyone to keep him company. "Tan I stay wit you Mommy?"

I felt my heart melting within me, but I knew that if I validated that fear and allowed him to stay with me in that moment, I wouldn't be helping him at all. In fact, I would be nurturing Kaleb's fear and stifling his ability to develop independence.

Of course, I'm not made of stone, so I made sure to turn his night light on to make him feel more comfortable, but staying in Mommy's room, was absolutely out of the question. Soon after he returned to his room, I heard silence. Kaleb had fallen asleep.

This is a great lesson that's applicable to both you and me.

God knows that, when we give into fear and allow it to control us, we develop unhealthy dependency upon people and things, which ultimately limits our growth. So, He allows us to go through situations that challenge and stretch us, with just a "night light." He lights our path through the dark seasons, knowing that His word is enough to sustain us. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Psalm119:105 KJV).

That's why, sometimes, we have to go through a season of pruning and stripping away. We lose some things we perceive as very valuable that we've grown to rely heavily on. Although this can be an extremely painful process, the good news is that, through losing those comforts that keep us dependent on temporal things, we in turn, gain something much more valuable.

We gain the revelation that all we really need already lies within us... not outside of us. This only happens, however, when we go through a separation from all the noise and extraneous things that keep us occupied. Bottom line is, we have to lose what's dispensable, so we can gain what's invaluable. Often, we think those non-essential people and things are essential, so it's not until we lose them, that we realize we never needed them in the first place.

While losing is typically associated with pain, gaining intimacy with God heals any emotional injury we might sustain, through deeper levels of communion with the Holy Spirit, fuller joy and abiding peace.

But I must reiterate this point; we can never benefit from the power of God's word and time spent in His presence, if we always fill our void with everything but Him. All too often, we find ourselves seeking after temporary comforts when what we really need is a word from the Lord. (See Matthew 4:4)

If we would just turn on our night light--that is, open up our word and seek God's face, then our fear, emptiness, uncertainty and anxiety would dissipate and we would indeed find rest for our souls. Jesus said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

Isn't it about time you got some rest?

As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may you be empowered to prosper!